Midnight

Chapter 5: Surprise!

                                                My mom woke me up super early while I was still dreaming of riding Midnight. I felt at peace when I woke up. It felt like all my emotions just flew away but I knew the dream wasn't real. My mom made me wear a t-shirt, jeans, and some old boots of mine. I had no idea what was going on but I was excited to see what my mom had planned. Even my mom was excited. Before I knew it we were on the road heading to wherever mom was taking me. We were in the car for about 15 minutes and when I looked outside my window there was a beautiful riding facility. I saw tons of horses and I saw people outside riding. While I was daydreaming of being there my mom made a sudden turn in that drive way. "Surprise! You get to take horse lessons!" My mom looked at me smiling. My face lit up with a huge smile, I couldn't believe what my mom was doing for me. I couldn't wait to start riding then soon I will be able to ride Midnight. My mom parked the car and we both walked in the barn together. The barn was huge! There were probably about 25 horses in that barn currently but there were way more outside. My mom took me inside this little office with this lady. The lady gave us a big smile "Hello, you must be Sara." She looked at me with the biggest smile. I of coarse smiled back "Yep, I am. I can't wait to start." I said with a shy voice. "My name is Jill and I am the riding instructor/owner of the barn. I can't wait to start working with you. Come with me and I will show you who you will be riding." She took me by the hand and lead me where the horses were. My mom held my other hand with a smile. Jill took me to a stall near the end of the barn "This is Boomer, he is a little pinto pony. He is very sweet. He is the horse you will be riding for now on." She said with a smile. I went in the stall and gave him an apple that Jill gave me. Boomer loved it.  I started crying tears of joy because my dream of a lifetime was now a reality. Jill let me lead Boomer to the cross ties and she helped me learn how to tack up. I was riding English and it looked so much fun so I was excited to get on. We were finally done grooming and tacking up Boomer then we went to the big indoor arena. Jill helped me up on to Boomer and as soon as I was on him I smiled. For my first lesson Jill just had me on a lunge line but I was learning. It was so much fun and Boomer was such a sweet boy. "You look good on him Sara. Is there a certain goal you want in riding?" Jill asked me. I looked at her "I want to be able to ride my horse Midnight and ride through a huge open field. It would feel like I am flying and I would let all my emotions go." I said with my eyes closed imagining. Jill was speechless for a moment "That sounds amazing Sara. Is there a certain discipline you want to do?" Jill asked me. I knew what disciplines were because over the weekend I was studying and one thing that would be fun is jumping. "I would like to jump because it would feel like I am flying." I explained to Jill. Jill smiled "You will get there soon. You have the potential." I smiled back at her. After an hour of riding the lesson was finally over. It was so much fun. Immediately after I got off Boomer "Mom, when is the next one?" My mom laughed her laugh was very joyful. "Well, even though it is Sunday. Your official lessons will be every Wednesday. So this Wednesday you will have another lesson and every Wednesday after that." She smiled at me because she knew I was finally coming out of that sad state. She could tell I loved horses and riding. I undid the saddle and bridle all by my self then put Boomer back in his stall. Boomer did so good. As soon as I got in the car I asked my mom "Mom, when can I ride Midnight?" My mom started putting the car in gear "Soon dear, when you get more experienced. I do not know if he is ride-able tough sweetie so it may be a while before you can." I started day dreaming of me riding Midnight through the woods and jumping over logs and creeks. I had faith Midnight will be a great horse. I could see potential in him just like Jill sees potential in me. We got home and I ran straight to the barn to go see my beautiful horse. "Hey boy, guess where I went today. I got to have a riding lesson! Soon I will learn to ride then we can ride through all of those open fields just like my dream." Midnight pricked his ears up and nickered. A few moments later as I was telling Midnight all about my lesson, my mom walked in. "Hey, how is Midnight doing?" My mom asked in a soft voice because she knew Midnight was skittish. "He is doing great, I just wish I could do more with him." I replied to her.  My mom smiled "Well, I was thinking tomorrow after school we can go to that tack shown downtown and buy a grooming kit and a new halter for him." My eyes sparkled with excitement. "Sure!" I said with excitement. "Also, I got you a little job so you can start paying for money. I talked to Jill while you were with Boomer and she said you can come after school and help her around the barn. We were thinking every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday then Wednesday would be your little reward. Also every Wednesday and Friday she will give you $50 to save up for Midnight then eventually get enough to board Midnight there." My mom explained. I was speechless for a minute "I would love to help out in the barn. It will help me get through the school year." I smiled. My mom smiled back at me "Okay, I will call Jill tonight and we can see when you start. Most likely it will be next week." It was the end of the day and I was getting into bed then my mom walked in "You will start next Monday." My mom said. "Okay mom." I replied. I was so excited but I wish I could start tomorrow because tomorrow is the start of my 2nd week of school and I hope this week is better than the 1st week. At least I have Midnight and EJ. Then I went to sleep and dreamed about Midnight again.